* [The title given in the book for this day is Friday after Ascension.]
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO É UM FOGO QUE INFLAMA O CORAÇÃO - "Tu amoris in eis ignem accende".
Sabemos, por nossa fé, que o Espírito Santo procede do Pai e do Filho por meio de seu amor mútuo um pelo outro e, portanto, que o dom do amor que o Senhor infunde em nossas almas, e que é o maior de todos os dons, é particularmente atribuído ao Espírito Santo. A caridade de Deus é derramada em nosso coração pelo Espírito Santo que nos é dado. — (Rom. v. 5). Hence in this Novena we should especially consider the great excellence and value of Divine love that we may desire it, and labour to obtain it by devout exercises, but particularly by fervent prayer, for Jesus has said: Seu Pai, que está nos céus, dará o bom Espírito àqueles que lhe pedirem. — (Luke xi. 13).
Meditação I:
Deus ordenou na Antiga Lei que o fogo fosse mantido continuamente aceso em Seu altar: O fogo do altar sempre arderá. - (Lev. vi. 12). São Gregório diz que nossos corações são os altares de Deus, nos quais Ele deseja que o fogo de Seu amor esteja sempre aceso. E, portanto, o Pai Eterno, não satisfeito em ter nos dado Seu Filho Jesus Cristo para nos salvar por Sua morte, também nos daria o Espírito Santo para habitar em nossos corações e mantê-los continuamente inflamados com Seu amor. E o próprio Jesus declarou que foi para influenciar nosso coração com esse santo amor que Ele veio ao mundo, e que nada mais desejava do que vê-lo aceso: Eu vim para enviar fogo sobre a terra; e que mais quero eu senão que ele se acenda? — (Luke xii. 49). Hence, forgetting the injuries and ingratitude He received from men in this world, when He had ascended into Heaven, He sent down upon us the Holy Ghost. O most loving Redeemer, dost Thou, then, love us not only in Thy sufferings and ignominies, but also in Thy Heavenly glory?
Até agora, ó meu Deus, nada fiz por Ti, que fizeste coisas tão grandes por mim! Infelizmente, minha mornidão pode merecer que Tu me vomites de Tua boca! Ó Espírito Santo, quente o que é friolivrai-me de minha tepidez e acendei em mim um grande desejo de agradar-Vos.
Meditação II:
Hence it was that the Holy Ghost chose to appear in the form of fiery tongues. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire. — (Acts ii. 3). Wherefore the Church instructs us to pray: “May the Holy Ghost, we beseech Thee, O Lord, inflame us with that fire which our Lord Jesus came to cast upon the earth, and which He ardently desired to be enkindled.” This was the holy Fire which has inspired the Saints to do such great things for God, to love their enemies, to desire contempt, to renounce all worldly goods, and to embrace with cheerfulness, even torments and death. Love cannot remain idle, and never says: It is enough. The soul that loves God, the more she does for her Beloved, the more she desires to do for Him, in order to please Him, and to draw down His love the more. This holy love is enkindled in mental prayer: In my meditation a fire shall flame out. — (Ps. xxxviii. 4). If, therefore, we desire to be on fire with the love of God, we must delight in prayer; this is the blessed furnace in which this Divine ardour is enkindled.
O Lord, I now renounce all self-gratification, and would rather die than displease Thee. Thou didst appear in the shape of fiery tongues: I consecrate my tongue to Thee, that I may never use it to offend Thee. Thou gave me my tongue, O God, to praise Thee, and I have made use of it to offend Thee, and to draw others into offences against Thee! I am sorry for these things with my whole soul. Oh, for the love of Jesus Christ, Who in His mortal life honoured Thee so much with His tongue, grant that I also from this day forward may honour Thee, by always proclaiming Thy praises, by frequently invoking Thy assistance, and by speaking of Thy goodness and of the infinite love which Thou deserves! I love Thee, my sovereign Good; I love Thee, O God of love! O Mary, most dear spouse of the Holy Ghost, obtain for me this holy fire.
Leitura espiritual: O SACRIFÍCIO DA MISSA
For every high-priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins. — (Heb. v. 1). The priest, then, is placed by God in the Church in order to offer sacrifice. This office is peculiar to the priests of the Law of grace, to whom has been given the power of offering the great Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Son of God – a Sacrifice sublime and perfect in comparison with the ancient sacrifices, the entire perfection of which consisted in being the shadow and figure of our Sacrifice. They were sacrifices of calves and oxen, but the Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of the eternal Word made Man. Of themselves they had no efficacy, and were therefore called by St. Paul weak and needy elements. — (Gal. iv. 9). But the Mass has power to obtain the remission of temporal penalties due to sins, and to procure an increase of grace, and more abundant helps for those in whose behalf it is offered.
Jesus Christ performed no action on earth greater than the celebration of Mass. In a word, of all actions that can be performed, the Mass is the most holy and dear to God, as well on account of the oblation presented to God, that is, Jesus Christ, a Victim of infinite dignity, as on account of the first Offerer, Jesus Christ, Who offers Himself on the altar by the hands of the priest. “The same now making the offering,” says the Council of Trent, “by the ministry of priests, Who then offered Himself on the Cross.” St. John Chrysostom said: “When you see a priest offering, do not believe that this is done by the hand of a priest; the offering is made rather by the hand of God invisibly stretched out.”
All the honours that the Angels by their homage, and men by their virtues, penances, and martyrdoms, and other holy work, have ever given to God, could not give Him as much glory as a single Mass. For all the honours of creatures are finite honours, but the honour given to God in the Sacrifice of the altar, because it proceeds from a Divine Person, is an infinite honour. Hence we must confess that of all actions the Mass, as the Council of Trent says, is the most holy and divine: “We must needs confess that no other work can be performed by the faithful so holy and divine as this tremendous Mystery itself.” It is, then, as we have seen, an action the most holy and dear to God – an action that appeases most efficaciously the anger of God against sinners, that beats down most effectually the powers of hell, that brings to men on earth the greatest benefits, and that affords to the souls in Purgatory the greatest relief. It is, in fine, an action in which, as St. Udo, Abbot of Cluny, has written, consists the entire salvation of the world: “Of all the favours granted to me, this is the greatest: it is truly by the most generous ardour of His love that God instituted this mystery, without which there would be no salvation in this world.” And, speaking of the Mass, Timothy of Jerusalem said that by it the world is preserved. But for the Mass the earth should have long since perished on account of the sins of men.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
"A caridade não age com perversidade."
I. AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO EVITA A MORNIDÃO E BUSCA A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
São Gregório, em sua explicação dessas palavras, "não age perversamente", diz que a Caridade, entregando-se cada vez mais ao amor de Deus, ignora tudo o que não é correto e santo. O Apóstolo já havia escrito no mesmo sentido, quando chamou a Caridade de vínculo que une as virtudes mais perfeitas na alma. Tenha caridade, que é o vínculo da perfeição. — (Col. iii. 14). And whereas Charity delights in perfection, she consequently abhors that lukewarmness with which some persons serve God, to the great risk of losing charity, divine grace, their very souls and their all.
At the same time it must be observed that there are two kinds of tepidity or lukewarmness; the one unavoidable, the other avoidable. From that which is unavoidable, the Saints themselves are not exempt; and this comprises all the failings which are committed by us without full consent, but merely from our natural frailty. Such are, for example, distractions at prayers, interior disquietudes, useless words, vain curiosity, the wish to appear, tastes in eating and drinking, the movements of concupiscence not instantly repressed, and such like. We ought to avoid these defects as much as we possibly can; but, owing to the weakness of our nature, caused by the infection of sin, it is impossible to avoid them altogether. We ought, indeed, to detest them after committing them, because they are displeasing to God; but as we have already remarked, we ought to beware of making them a subject of alarm or disquietude. St. Francis of Sales wrote as follows: “All such thoughts as create disquietude are not from God, Who is the Prince of Peace; but they proceed always from the devil, or from self-love, or from the good opinion we have of ourselves.”
Meditação II:
Such thoughts, therefore, as disturb us, must be straightway rejected, and made no account of. It was said also by the same Saint Francis regarding indeliberate faults, that, as they were involuntarily committed, so are they cancelled involuntarily. An act of sorrow, an act of love, is sufficient to cancel them. The venerable Sister Mary Crucified, a Benedictine nun, saw once a globe of fire, on which a number of straws were cast, and were all forthwith reduced to ashes. She was given to understand by this figure, that one act of Divine love, made with fervour, destroys all the defects we may have in our soul. The same effect is produced by the Holy Communion, according to what we find in the Council of Trent, where the Eucharist is called “an antidote by which we are freed from daily faults.” Thus the like faults, though they are indeed faults, do not hinder perfection; that is, our advancing to perfection; because no one attains perfection before he arrives at the kingdom of the Blessed.
* [The title given in the book for this day is Saturday after Ascension.]
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO É UMA LUZ QUE ILUMINA A ALMA - "O Lux Beatissima".
O Lux Beatissima! O Espírito Santo, que é chamado de a mais abençoada Luz, é Aquele que não apenas inflama nossos corações para amá-Lo, mas também dissipa todas as trevas e nos revela a vaidade das coisas terrenas. Ó Espírito Santo, visita-me com Tua graça e concede-me o dom do entendimento, para que, pela contemplação das coisas celestiais, eu possa separar meus pensamentos e afeições de todas as vaidades deste mundo miserável.
Meditação I:
Um dos piores efeitos do pecado de Adão em nós foi o fato de cegar nossa razão por meio das paixões que obscureceram a mente. Oh, quão miserável é a alma que se permite ser governada por qualquer uma das paixões! A paixão é um vapor, um véu, que não nos permite ver a verdade. Como pode fugir do mal aquele que não sabe o que é o mal? Essa obscuridade aumenta na proporção em que nossos pecados aumentam. Mas o Espírito Santo, que é chamado Luz muito abençoada, com Seus raios divinos, não apenas inflama nosso coração para amá-Lo, mas também dissipa nossa escuridão e nos revela a vaidade de todas as coisas do mundo, o valor dos bens eternos, a importância da salvação, o valor da graça, a bondade de Deus, o amor infinito que Ele merece de nós e o imenso amor que Ele nos demonstrou.
Ó Espírito Santo, Divino Consolador, eu Te adoro como meu verdadeiro Deus, assim como adoro a Deus Pai e a Deus Filho. Suplico-Te que me visites com Tua graça e Teu amor, e que me concedas o dom do entendimento, para que eu possa compreender os Mistérios Divinos e, pela contemplação das coisas celestiais, possa separar meus pensamentos e afeições de todas as vaidades deste mundo miserável.
Meditação II:
The sensual man perceiveth not those things that are of the spirit of God. — (1 Cor. ii. 14). Man, absorbed in the pleasures of the earth, knows but little of these truths, and hence he unhappily loves that which he should hate, and hates that which he should love. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi exclaimed: “O love not known, O love not loved!” And hence St. Teresa said, that God is not loved because He is not known. Wherefore the Saints ever sought light from God: Send forth thy light; illumine my darkness; open thou my eyes. Yes, because without light, precipices cannot be avoided, nor God be found.
O Holy and Divine Spirit, I believe that Thou art truly God, and one God with the Father and with the Son. I adore and acknowledge Thee as the Giver of those lights by which Thou hast discovered to me the evil I have done by offending Thee, and the obligation I am under of loving Thee. I thank Thee for them, and am exceedingly sorry for having offended Thee. I have deserved to be abandoned by Thee in my darkness, but I am sensible Thou hast not yet abandoned me. Continue, O Eternal Spirit, to enlighten me, and make me know still more and more Thy infinite goodness, and give me strength to love Thee for the future with my whole heart. Add grace upon grace, that so I may be sweetly overcome, and constrained to love no other but Thee. I thank Thee through the merits of Jesus Christ. I love Thee, my sovereign Good; I love Thee more than myself. I desire to be all Thine; accept of me, and suffer me not to depart from Thee any more. O Mary, my Mother, assist me always by thy holy intercession.
Leitura espiritual: O SACRIFÍCIO DA MISSA
St. Bonaventure says that in each Mass God bestows on the world a benefit not inferior to that which He conferred by His Incarnation. This is conformable to the celebrated words of St. Augustine: “O venerable dignity of the priests, in whose hands, as in the womb of the Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate!” Moreover, St. Thomas teaches that since the Sacrifice of the altar is nothing else than the application and renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross, a single Mass brings to men the same benefits and salvation that were produced by the Sacrifice of the Cross. St. John Chrysostom says: “The celebration of a Mass has the same value as the death of Christ on the Cross.” And of this we are still more assured by the holy Church in the Collect for the Sunday after Pentecost: “As many times as this commemorative Sacrifice is celebrated, so often is the work of our Redemption performed.” The same Redeemer Who once offered Himself on the Cross is immolated on the altar by the ministry of His priests. “For the Victim is one and the same,” says the Council of Trent: “the same now offering by the ministry of priests, Who then offered Himself on the Cross, the manner alone of offering being different.”
In a word, the Mass is, according to the prediction of the Prophet, “the good and the beautiful thing” of the Church: For what is the good thing of him, and what is his beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect and wine springing forth virgins. — (Zach. ix. 17). In the Mass, Jesus Christ gives Himself to us by means of the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar, which is the end and object of all the other Sacraments, says the angelic Doctor. Justly, then, has St. Bonaventure called a Mass a compendium of all God’s love and of all His benefits to men. Hence the devil has always sought to deprive the world of the Mass by means of the heretics, constituting them precursors of Antichrist, whose first efforts will be to abolish the holy Sacrifice of the altar, and, according to the Prophet Daniel, in punishment of the sins of men, his efforts shall be successful: And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice on account of sins. — (Dan. viii. 12).
Most justly, then, does the holy Council of Trent require of priests to be most careful to celebrate Mass with the greatest possible devotion and purity of conscience: “It is sufficiently clear that all industry and diligence is to be applied to this end, that it (the Mystery) be performed with the greatest possible inward cleanness and purity of heart.” And in the same place the Council justly remarks, that on priests who celebrate this great Sacrifice negligently, and without devotion, shall fall the malediction threatened by the Prophet Jeremias: Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently. — (Jer. xlviii. 10). A servant of God used to say that the life of a priest should be nothing else than preparation and thanksgiving for Mass.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
II. AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO EVITA A MORNIDÃO E BUSCA A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
A tepidez, portanto, que impede a perfeição, é aquela tepidez que pode ser evitada quando uma pessoa comete faltas veniais deliberadas; porque todas essas faltas cometidas de olhos abertos podem ser efetivamente evitadas pela graça divina, se tivermos o desejo. Por isso, Santa Teresa disse: "Que Deus o livre do pecado deliberado, por menor que seja". Tais são, por exemplo, inverdades intencionais, pequenas detrações, imprecações, expressões de raiva, zombarias do próximo, palavras cortantes, palavras de autoestima, animosidades nutridas no coração, apegos desordenados a pessoas de sexo diferente. "Esses são uma espécie de verme", escreveu a mesma Santa, "que não é detectado antes de ter comido as virtudes". Por isso, em outro lugar, ela deu esta admoestação: "Por meio de pequenas coisas, o demônio faz buracos para que grandes coisas entrem."
Devemos, portanto, tremer diante de tais faltas deliberadas, pois elas fazem com que Deus feche Suas mãos para não nos conceder Suas luzes mais claras e Seus auxílios mais fortes, e nos privam das doçuras espirituais; e o resultado disso é fazer com que a alma realize todos os exercícios espirituais com grande cansaço e dor; E assim, com o passar do tempo, ela começa a deixar de lado a oração, as comunhões, as visitas ao Santíssimo Sacramento e as novenas; e, no final, ela provavelmente deixará de lado toda a piedade, como não raro tem acontecido com muitas almas infelizes.
Meditação II:
This is the meaning of that threat which our Lord makes to the tepid: Thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot; but because thou art lukewarm . . . I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. — (Apoc. iii. 15,16). How wonderful! He says, I would thou wert cold! What! And is it better to be cold, that is, deprived of grace, than to be tepid? Yes, in a certain sense it is better to be cold; because a person who is cold may more easily change his life, being stung by the reproaches of conscience; whereas a tepid person contracts the habit of slumbering on in his faults, without bestowing a thought, or taking any trouble to correct himself; and thus he makes his cure, as it were, desperate: St. Gregory says, “Tepidity, which has cooled down from fervour, is a hopeless state.” The Venerable Father Lewis da Ponte said that he had committed many defects in the course of his life; but that he had never made a truce with his faults. Some there are who make friends with their faults, and from that springs their ruin; especially when the fault is accompanied with some passionate attachment, of self-esteem, of ambition, of liking to be seen, of heaping up money, of resentment against a neighbour, or of inordinate affection for a person of a different sex. In such cases there is great danger of those threads, as it were, becoming chains, as St. Francis of Assisi said, which will drag down the soul to hell. At all events, such a soul will never become a saint, and will forfeit that beautiful crown, which God had prepared for her, had she faithfully corresponded to grace. The bird no sooner feels herself loosed from the snare, than she immediately flies; the soul, as soon as she is loosed from earthly attachments, immediately flies to God; but while she is bound, though it be but by the slightest thread, it is enough to prevent her flying to God. Oh, how many spiritual persons there are who do not become saints, because they will not do themselves the violence to break away from certain little attachments!
Meditação matinal: AMOR DIVINO: UMA FONTE QUE SATISFAZ - "Riga quod est aridum".
Deus, que nos ama e deseja nos ver felizes, clama e dá a conhecer a todos: Se alguém tem sede, venha a mim. Eu lhe darei o Espírito Santo, que o tornará abençoado nesta vida e na próxima. Riga quod est aridum! Ó meu Jesus, eu Te peço, dê-me a água do Teu amor que me fará esquecer a terra e viver somente para Ti, que és o infinitamente amável!
Meditação I:
O amor é chamado de fonte viva, fogo, Caridade. Fons vivus, ignis, Charitas. Nosso bendito Redentor disse à mulher samaritana: Mas aquele que beber da água que eu lhe der não terá sede para sempre. — (John iv. 13). Love is the water which satisfies our thirst; for he that truly loves God with his whole heart, neither seeks nor desires anything else: because in God he finds every good. Hence, happy in possessing God, he frequently exclaims with joy: Meu Deus e meu Tudo! Deus Todo-Poderoso se queixa de muitos que buscam prazeres efêmeros e miseráveis nas criaturas e O abandonam, que é a Bondade Infinita e a Fonte de toda alegria: Abandonaram-me, a mim, a fonte de água viva, e cavaram para si cisternas, cisternas rotas, que não retêm água. — (Jer. ii. 13). Meanwhile God, Who loves us and desires to see us happy, cries out and makes known to all: Se alguém tem sede, venha a mim. — (John vii. 37). He who desires to be happy, let him come to Me, and I will bestow upon him the Holy Ghost, Who will make him blessed, both in this life and in the next.
Domine, da mihi hanc aquam! Senhor, dê-me desta água! — (John iv. 15). O Jesus, with the Samaritan woman I beseech Thee, give me of this water of Thy love, which will make me forget the earth, and live only for Thee alone, Who art the infinitely amiable One. Riga quod est aridum! Minha alma é um solo estéril, que não produz nada além das ervas daninhas e dos espinhos do pecado. Oh, regue-a com Sua santa graça, para que ela possa produzir algum fruto para Sua glória, antes de deixar este mundo na morte!
Meditação II:
He, then, that believes in Jesus Christ, and loves Him, shall be enriched with so many graces, that from his heart shall spring up fountains of holy virtues, which shall not only preserve his life, but also give life to others. And indeed this water is the Holy Ghost, the sustaining love which Jesus Christ promised to send from Heaven, after His Ascension: Now this he said of the Spirit, which they should receive who believed in him: for as yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not glorified. — (John vii. 39).
The key which opens the channels of this blessed water is holy prayer, which obtains all good things in virtue of the promise: Ask and you shall receive. We are weak, and blind, and poor, and miserable, but prayer will obtain for us strength, and light, and wealth, and happiness. Theodoret says: “Prayer, though but one, can effect all things.” He who prays receives all he asks for. God desires to give us His graces, but He desires that we should pray for them.
O Fountain of living water, O sovereign Good, how often have I deserted Thee for the defiled waters of the earth, which have deprived me of Thy love! O that I had rather died than offend Thee! But for the future I will seek after nothing but Thee, my God. Succour me, and make me always faithful to Thee. Mary, my hope, keep me always under thy holy protection.
Leitura espiritual: A SUBLIME DIGNIDADE DO SACERDÓCIO
In his Epistle to the Christians of Smyrna, St. Ignatius, Martyr, says that the priesthood is the most sublime of all created dignities: “The apex of dignities is the priesthood.” St. Ephrem calls it an infinite dignity: “The priesthood is an astounding miracle, great, immense, and infinite.” St. John Chrysostom says, that though its functions are performed on earth, the priesthood should be numbered among the things of Heaven. According to Cassian, the priest of God is exalted above all earthly sovereignties, and above all celestial heights — he is inferior only to God. Innocent III says that the priest is placed between God and man; inferior to God, but superior to man.
St. Denis calls the priest “a divine man.” Hence he has called the priesthood “a divine dignity.” In fine, St. Ephrem says that the gift of the sacerdotal dignity surpasses all understanding. For us it is enough to know, that Jesus Christ has said that we should treat His priests as we would His own person: He that heareth you, heareth me; he that despiseth you, despiseth me. — (Luke x. 16). Hence St. John Chrysostom says, that “he who honours a priest, honours Christ, and he who insults a priest, insults Christ.” Through respect for the sacerdotal dignity, St. Mary of Oignies used to kiss the ground on which a priest had walked.
The dignity of the priest is estimated by the exalted nature of his office. Priests are chosen by God to manage on earth all His concerns and interests. “Divine,” says St. Cyril of Alexandria, “are the offices confided to priests.” St. Ambrose has called the priestly office “a divine profession.” A priest is a minister destined by God to be a public ambassador of the whole Church, to honour Him, and to obtain His graces for all the faithful. The entire Church cannot give to God as much honour, nor obtain so many graces, as a single priest by celebrating a single Mass; for the greatest honour that the whole Church without priests could give to God would consist in offering to Him in sacrifice the lives of all men. But of what value are the lives of all men compared with the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is a Sacrifice of infinite value? What are all men before God but a little dust? As a drop of a bucket . . . as a little dust. — (Is. xl. 15, 17). They are but a mere nothing in His sight. All nations are before him as if they had no being at all. Thus, by the celebration of a single Mass, in which he offers Jesus Christ in Sacrifice, a priest gives greater honour to the Lord, than if all men by dying for God offered to Him the sacrifice of their lives. By a single Mass he gives greater honour to God than all the Angels and Saints, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, have given or shall give to Him; for their worship cannot be of infinite value, like that which the priest celebrating on the altar offers to God.
Moreover, in the holy Mass the priest offers to God an adequate thanksgiving for all the graces bestowed even on the Blessed in Paradise; but such a thanksgiving all the Saints together are incapable of offering to God. Hence it is that on this account, also the priestly dignity is superior even to all celestial dignities. Besides, the priest, says St. John Chrysostom, is an ambassador of the whole world, to intercede with God and to obtain graces for all creatures. The priest, according to St. Ephrem, “treats familiarly with God.” To priests every door is open.
Jesus has died to institute the priesthood. It was not necessary for the Redeemer to die in order to save the world; a drop of His Blood, a single tear, or prayer, was sufficient to procure salvation for all; for such a prayer, being of infinite value, would be sufficient to save not one but a thousand worlds. But to institute the priesthood, the Death of Jesus Christ has been necessary. Had He not died, where should we find the Victim that the priests of the New Law now offer? Where find a victim altogether holy and immaculate, capable of giving to God an honour worthy of God? As has been already said, all the lives of men and Angels are not capable of giving to God an infinite honour like that which a priest offers to Him by a single Mass.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
III. AQUELE QUE AMA JESUS CRISTO EVITA A MORNIDÃO E BUSCA A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
O mal da tepidez decorre do pouco amor que os homens têm por Jesus Cristo. Aqueles que estão cheios de autoestima; aqueles que freqüentemente levam a sério ocorrências que são contrárias a seus desejos; que praticam grande indulgência consigo mesmos por causa de sua saúde; que mantêm o coração aberto a objetos externos e a mente sempre distraída, com uma ânsia de ouvir e saber tantas coisas que não têm nada a ver com o serviço de Deus, mas servem apenas para satisfazer a curiosidade particular; que estão prontas para se ressentir de toda pequena desatenção dos outros e, consequentemente, são frequentemente perturbadas e se tornam negligentes na oração e no recolhimento que, em um momento, são todas devoção e alegria, e no outro, todas impaciência e melancolia, assim como as coisas acontecem de acordo com ou contra seu humor; todas essas pessoas não amam Jesus Cristo, ou O amam muito pouco, e lançam descrédito sobre a verdadeira devoção.
Mas se alguém se encontrar afundado nesse infeliz estado de tepidez, o que deve fazer? Certamente, é difícil para uma alma que se tornou morna retomar seu antigo fervor; mas nosso Senhor disse que o que o homem não pode fazer, Deus pode muito bem fazer. As coisas que são impossíveis para o homem são possíveis para Deus. - (Lucas xviii., 27). Quem orar e empregar os meios certamente alcançará seu desejo.
Agora, o primeiro meio é o desejo de perfeição. Os desejos piedosos são as asas que nos elevam da terra; pois, como diz São Lourenço Justiniano, o desejo "fornece força e alivia a dor". Ele dá força para caminhar em direção à perfeição e alivia o cansaço da jornada. Aquele que tem um desejo real de perfeição não deixa de avançar continuamente em direção a ela; e avançando assim, ele deve finalmente chegar a ela. Ao contrário, aquele que não tem o desejo da perfeição sempre retrocederá e sempre se encontrará mais imperfeito do que antes. Santo Agostinho diz que "não avançar no caminho de Deus é retroceder". Aquele que não se esforça para avançar se verá levado para trás pela corrente de sua natureza corrupta.
Meditação II:
They, then, who say, “God does not wish us all to be saints,” make a great mistake. Yes; for St. Paul says, This is the will of God, your sanctification. — (1 Thess. iv. 3). God wishes us all to be saints, and each one according to his state of life: the Religious as a Religious; the secular as a secular; the Priest as a Priest; the married as married; the man of business as a man of business; the soldier as a soldier; and so of every other state of life. Most beautiful, indeed, are the instructions which my great patroness, St. Teresa, gives on this subject. She says, in one place, “Let us enlarge our thoughts; for hence we shall derive immense good.” Elsewhere: “We must beware of having poor desires; but rather put our confidence in God, in order that, by forcing ourselves continually onwards, we may by degrees arrive where, by the Divine grace, so many Saints have arrived.” And in confirmation of this she quoted her own experience, having known how courageous souls make considerable progress in a short period of time. “Because,” said she, “The Lord takes as much delight in our desires, as if they were put into execution.” In another place she says: “Almighty God does not confer extraordinary favours, except where His love has been earnestly sought after.” Again, in another passage, she remarks: “God does not fail to repay every good desire even in this life, for He is the Friend of generous souls, provided only they do not trust in themselves.” This Saint herself was endowed with just such a spirit of generosity; so that she once even said to our Lord, that were she to behold others in Paradise enjoying Him more than herself, she would not care; but were she to behold any one loving Him more than she should love Him, this she declared she knew not how she could endure.
We must, therefore have great courage: O Senhor é bom para a alma que o busca. — (Lam. iii. 25). God is surpassingly good and liberal towards a soul that heartily seeks Him. Neither can past sins prove a hindrance to our becoming Saints, if only we have the sincere desire to become so. St. Teresa remarks: “The devil strives to make us think it pride to entertain lofty desires, and to wish to imitate the Saints; but it is of great service to encourage ourselves with the desire of great things, because, although the soul has not all at once the necessary strength, yet she nevertheless makes a bold flight, and rapidly advances.” The Apostle writes: To them that love God, all things work together unto good. — (Rom. viii. 28). And the Gloss adds “even sins”; even past sins can contribute to our sanctification, inasmuch as the recollection of them keeps us more humble, and more grateful, when we witness the favours God lavishes upon us, after all our outrages against Him. I am not capable of anything, the sinner should say, nor do I deserve anything; I deserve nothing but hell; but I have to deal with a God of infinite bounty, Who has promised to listen to all that pray to Him. Now, as He has rescued me from a state of damnation, and wishes me to become holy, and now proffers me His help, I can certainly become a saint, not by my own strength, but by the grace of my God, Who strengthens me: I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. — (Phil. iv. 13). Once, thus, we have good desires, we must take courage, and trusting in God, endeavour to put them into execution; but if afterwards we encounter any obstacle in our spiritual enterprises, let us repose quietly on the will of God. God’s will must be preferred before every good desire of our own. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi would sooner have remained without perfection than possess it without the will of God.
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO É UM ORVALHO QUE FERTILIZA - "In aestu temperies: dulce refrigerium".
O Amor Divino fertiliza os bons desejos, os propósitos sagrados e as boas obras de nossa alma, e essas são as flores e os frutos que a graça do Espírito Santo produz. Ó Espírito Santo e Divino, não viverei mais para mim mesmo. Passarei todos os dias que me restam de vida amando e agradando a Ti.
Meditação I:
O Amor Divino é um orvalho que fertiliza a alma. Assim, a Santa Igreja nos ensina a orar: Que a infusão do Espírito Santo purifique nosso coração e o fertilize com a aspersão interior de seu orvalho. O amor fertiliza nossos bons desejos, nossos propósitos santos e as boas obras de nossa alma; essas são as flores e os frutos que a graça do Espírito Santo produz. O amor também é chamado de orvalho, porque esfria o calor dos maus desejos e das tentações. Por isso, o Espírito Santo também é chamado de refresco no excesso de calor e consolo em nossa tristeza. In aestu temperies; dulce refrigerium.
Ó Espírito Santo e Divino, não viverei mais para mim mesmo; os dias que me restarem de vida, gastarei inteiramente em Te amar e agradar. Por isso, eu Te peço que me conceda o dom da oração. Vem, Tu, ao meu coração e ensina-me a orar como devo. Dá-me forças para não negligenciar a oração nos momentos de secura e cansaço; e dá-me o espírito de oração, isto é, a graça de orar a Ti de tal maneira e de oferecer-Te as orações que Te sejam mais aceitáveis.
Meditação II:
This dew descends into our hearts in the time of prayer. A quarter of an hour’s prayer is sufficient to appease any passion of hatred or of inordinate love, however ardent it may be: He brought me into the cellar of wine, he set in order charity in me. — (Cant. ii. 4). Holy meditation is this cellar of wine, where love is set in order, to love God above all things, and our neighbours as ourselves. He who loves God loves prayer; and he who loves not prayer will find it morally impossible to overcome his passions.
I was lost by my sins, O my God, but I now see from the favour which Thou hast shown me, that Thou desirest my sanctification and salvation; and I certainly desire to become holy, that I may please Thee, and love more ardently Thy infinite Goodness. I love Thee, my sovereign Good, my Love, and my All; and because I love Thee, I give my whole self to Thee. O Blessed Virgin Mary, protect me.
Leitura espiritual: GRANDEZA DO PODER SACERDOTAL
The dignity of the priest is also estimated by the power that he has over the real and the mystic body of Jesus Christ.
With regard to the power of priests over the real Body of Jesus Christ, it is of Faith that when they pronounce the words of Consecration the Incarnate Word has obliged Himself to obey and to come into their hands under the sacramental species. We are struck with wonder when we hear that God obeyed the voice of Josue – The Lord obeying the voice of man – and made the sun stand when he said: Move not, O sun, towards Gabaon, . . . and the sun stood still. — (Jos. x. 12-13). But our wonder should be far greater when we find that in obedience to the words of His priests – HOC EST CORPUS MEUM – God Himself descends on the altar, that He comes wherever they call Him, and as often as they call Him, and places Himself in their hands, even though they should be His enemies. And after having come, He remains entirely at their disposal; they move Him as they please, from one place to another; they may, if they wish, shut Him up in the Tabernacle, or expose Him on the altar, or carry Him outside the church. They may, if they choose, eat His flesh, and give Him as food to others. “Oh, how very great is their power,” says St. Laurence Justinian, speaking of priests; “a word falls from their lips and the Body of Christ is there substantially formed from the matter of bread, and the Incarnate Word come down from Heaven, is found really present on the table of the altar! Never did Divine goodness give such power to the Angels. The Angels abide by the order of God, but the priests take Him in their hands, distribute Him to the faithful, and partake of Him as food for themselves.”
With regard to the mystic body of Christ, that is, all the faithful, the priest has the power of the keys, or the power of delivering sinners from hell, of making them worthy of Paradise, and of changing them from the slaves of Satan into the children of God. And God Himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of His priests, and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse or give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it. “Such,” says St. Maximus of Turin, “is this judiciary power ascribed to Peter that its decision carries with it the decision of God.” The sentence of the priest precedes, and God subscribes to it, writes St. Peter Damian. Hence St. John Chrysostom thus concludes: “The Sovereign Master of the universe only follows the servant by confirming in Heaven all that the latter decides upon earth.”
Priests are the dispensers of the divine graces, and the companions of God. “Consider the priests,” says St. Ignatius, Martyr, “as the dispensers of divine graces and the associates of God.” “They are,” says St. Prosper, “the glory and the immovable columns of the Church; they are the doors of the eternal city, through them all reach Christ; they are the vigilant guardians to whom the Lord has confided the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; they are the stewards of the king’s house, to assign to each according to his good pleasure his place in the hierarchy.”
Were the Redeemer to descend into a church, and sit in a confessional to administer the Sacrament of Penance, and a priest to sit in another confessional, Jesus would say over each penitent, Ego te absolvo. The priest would likewise say over each of his penitents, Ego te absolvo, and the penitents of each would be equally absolved. How great the honour that a king would confer on a subject whom he should empower to rescue from prison as many as he pleased! But far greater is the power that the Eternal Father has given to Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ has given to His priests, to rescue from hell not only the bodies but also the souls of the faithful: “The Son,” says St. John Chrysostom, “has put into the hands of the priests all judgment; for having been as it were transported into Heaven, they have received this divine prerogative. If a king gave to a mortal the power to release from prison all prisoners, all would pronounce such a one happy; but the priests have received from God a far greater power, since the soul is more noble than the body.”
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
IV. OS MEIOS DE EVITAR A MORNIDÃO E ALCANÇAR A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
O segundo meio de perfeição é a resolução de pertencer totalmente a Deus. Muitos são chamados à perfeição; são impelidos a ela pela graça, concebem um desejo por ela; mas como nunca se decidem de fato a adquiri-la, vivem e morrem no mau cheiro de sua vida morna e imperfeita. O desejo de perfeição não é suficiente se não for acompanhado de uma firme determinação de alcançá-la. Quantas almas se alimentam apenas de desejos, mas nunca dão um passo sequer no caminho de Deus! É sobre esses desejos que o Homem Sábio fala quando diz: Os desejos matam os preguiçosos. — (Prov. xxi. 25). The slothful man is ever desiring, but never resolves to take the means suitable to his state of life to become a saint. He says: “Oh, if I were but in solitude, and not in this house! Oh, if I could but go and reside in another monastery, I would give myself up entirely to God!” And meanwhile he cannot support a certain companion; he cannot put up with a word of contradiction; he is dissipated about many useless cares; he commits a thousand faults of gluttony, of curiosity, and of pride; and yet he sighs out to the wind: “Oh, if I had but . . .!” or “Oh, if I could but . . .!” Such desires do more harm than good; because some regale themselves upon them, and in the meantime go on leading a life of imperfection. It was a saying of St. Francis of Sales: “I do not approve of a person who, being engaged in some duty or vocation, sighs for some other kind of life than is compatible with his actual position, or for other exercises unfitted for his present state; for it merely serves to dissipate his heart, and makes him languish in his necessary duties.”
Meditação II:
We, must, therefore, desire perfection, and resolutely take the means towards it. St. Teresa says: “God only looks for one resolution on our part, and will afterwards do all the rest Himself: the devil has no fear of irresolute souls.” For this reason mental prayer must be used, in order to take the means which lead to perfection. Some make much prayer, but never come to a practical conclusion. The Saint again says: “I would rather have a short prayer, which produces great fruits, than a prayer of many years, wherein a soul never gets further than resolving to do something worthy of Almighty God.” And elsewhere she says: “I have learnt by experience that whoever, at the beginning, brings himself to the resolution of doing some great work, however difficult it may be, if he does so to please God, he has no reason to be afraid.”
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO É UM REPOUSO QUE REFRESCA - "In labore requies: in fletu solatium".
O Amor Divino é chamado de descanso no trabalho de parto, conforto no luto. Uma alma que ama a Deus encontra paz e contentamento em todas as tribulações e adversidades, simplesmente dizendo: Esta é a vontade do meu Deus.
Meditação I:
O Amor Divino também é chamado de descanso no trabalho, conforto no luto. In labore requies, in fletu solatium. O amor é um repouso que refresca, porque o principal efeito do amor é unir a vontade do amante com a do amado. Para uma alma que ama a Deus, em toda afronta que recebe, em toda dor que suporta, em toda perda que sofre, é suficiente para torná-la resignada saber que tais coisas lhe são permitidas pela vontade de seu Amado. Ele encontra paz e contentamento em todas as tribulações e adversidades, dizendo: Essa é a vontade do meu Deus. Essa é a paz que supera todos os prazeres dos sentidos: A paz de Deus que excede todo o entendimento. — (Philipp. iv. 7). St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, by merely repeating: “it is the will of God,” was immediately filled with joy.
Ó meu Deus, quantas vezes, para seguir minha própria vontade, opus-me à Tua santa vontade e a desprezei. Desejo, de hoje em diante, amá-Lo de todo o meu coração.
Meditação II:
Everyone in this world must carry his cross; but St. Teresa says that the cross is hard to those who drag it, but not to those who embrace it. Thus, the Lord knows well how to strike and how to heal. He woundeth, saith holy Job, and cureth; he striketh, and his hands shall heal. The Holy Ghost, by His sweet unction, renders even ignominies and torments sweet and amiable. Yea, Father: for so hath it seemed good in thy sight. — (Matt. xi. 26). Thus ought we to say in all the adversities which befall us: So be it done, O Lord, for so hath it pleased Thee. And when the fear of any temporal calamity alarms us, let us always say: “Do with me, O Lord, whatever Thou pleasest; I will accept all as coming from Thee.” It is good, as St. Teresa advises, frequently in the course of the day to offer ourselves in this manner to God.
Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. What wouldst Thou have me to do? I will do all that Thou requires of me. Thy will shall be my only desire, my only love. Holy Spirit, strengthen my weakness. Thou art goodness itself: how can I love any other but Thee? O do Thou draw all the affections of my heart to Thyself, by the sweet attractions of Thy holy love. I renounce all, to give myself entirely to Thee. Accept of me, and succour me. O Mary, my Mother, pray for me.
Leitura espiritual: O SACERDÓCIO SUPERA TODAS AS OUTRAS DIGNIDADES CRIADAS
The sacerdotal dignity is the most noble of all the dignities in this world. “Nothing,” says St. Ambrose, “is more excellent in this world.” It transcends, says St. Bernard, “all the dignities of kings, of emperors, and of Angels.” According to St. Ambrose, the dignity of the priest as far exceeds that of kings, as the value of gold surpasses that of lead. The reason is, because the power of kings extends only to temporal goods and to the bodies of men, but the power of the priest extends to spiritual goods and to the human soul. “Hence,” says St. Clement, “as much as the soul is more noble than the body, so much is the priesthood more excellent than royalty.” “Princes,” says St. John Chrysostom, “have the power of binding, but they bind only the bodies, while the priest binds the soul.”
The kings of the earth glory in honouring priests: “It is a mark of a good prince,” says Pope St. Marcellinus, “to honour the priests of God.” “They willingly,” says Peter de Blois, “bend their knee before the priest of God; they kiss his hands, and with bowed down head receive his benediction.” “The sacerdotal dignity,” says St. Chrysostom, “effaces the royal dignity; hence the king inclines his head under the hand of the priest to receive his blessing.” In the Council of Nice, the Emperor Constantine wished to sit in the last place, after all the priests, and on a seat lower than that which they occupied; he would not even sit down without their permission. The holy king, St. Boleslaus, had so great a veneration for priests, that he would not dare to sit in their presence.
The sacerdotal dignity also surpasses the dignity of the Angels. The Angels in Heaven cannot absolve from a single sin. The Guardian Angels procure for the souls committed to their care grace to have recourse to a priest that he may absolve them: “Although,” says St. Peter Damian, “Angels may be present, they yet wait for the priest to exercise his power, but no one of them has the power of the keys – that is, to bind and to loose.” When St. Michael comes to a dying Christian who invokes his aid, the holy Archangel can chase away the devils, but he cannot free his client from their chains till a priest comes to absolve him. After having given the order of priesthood to a holy ecclesiastic, St. Francis de Sales perceived, that in going out he stopped at the door as if to give precedence to another. Being asked by the Saint why he stopped, he answered that God favoured him with the visible presence of his Angel guardian, who before he had received priesthood always remained at his right and preceded him, but afterwards walked on his left and refused to go before him. It was in a holy contest with the Angel that he stopped at the door. St. Francis of Assisi used to say, “If I saw an Angel and a priest, I would bend my knee first to the priest and then to the Angel.”
Besides, the power of the priest surpasses that of the Blessed Virgin Mary; for, although this Divine Mother can pray for us, and by her prayers obtain whatever she wishes, yet she cannot absolve a Christian from even the smallest sin. “The Blessed Virgin was eminently more perfect than the Apostles,” says Innocent III: “It was, however, not to her, but only to the Apostles, that the Lord entrusted the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.” St. Bernardine of Sienna has written: “Holy Virgin, excuse me, for I speak not against thee: the Lord has raised the priesthood above thee.” The Saint assigns the reason of the superiority of the priesthood over Mary; she conceived Jesus Christ only once; but by consecrating the Eucharist, the priest, as it were, conceives Him as often as he wishes, so that if the Person of the Redeemer had not as yet been in the world, the priest, by pronouncing the words of Consecration, would produce this great Person of a Man-God. “O wonderful dignity of priests,” cries out St. Augustine, “in whose hands, as in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate.” Hence priests are called the parents of Jesus Christ: such is the title that St. Bernard gives them, for they are the active cause by which He is made to exist really in the consecrated Host.
Thus the priest may, in a certain manner, be called the creator of his Creator; since by saying the words of Consecration, he creates, as it were, Jesus in the Sacrament, by giving Him a sacramental existence, and produces Him as a Victim to be offered to the Eternal Father. As in creating the world it was sufficient for God to have said: Let it be made, and it was created – He spoke, and they were made —(Ps. xxxii. 9) – so it is sufficient for the priest to say, “Hoc est corpus meum,” and behold the bread is no longer bread, but the Body of Jesus Christ. “The power of the priest,” says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “is the power of the Divine Person; for the Transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world.” And St. Augustine has written: “O venerable sanctity of the hands! O happy function of the priest! He that created me (if I may say so) gave me the power to create Him; and He that created me without me is Himself created by me!” As the Word of God created Heaven and earth, so, says St. Jerome, the words of the priest create Jesus Christ. “At a sign from God there came forth from nothing both the sublime vault of the heavens and the vast extent of the earth; but not less great is the power that manifests itself in the mysterious words of the priest.” The dignity of the priest is so great, that he even blesses Jesus Christ on the altar as a Victim to be offered to the Eternal Father. In the sacrifice of the Mass, writes Father Mansi, Jesus Christ is the principal Offerer and Victim; as Minister, He blesses the priest, but as Victim, the priest blesses Him.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
V. OS MEIOS DE EVITAR A MORNIDÃO E ALCANÇAR A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
The first resolution must be to make every effort, and to die rather than commit any deliberate sin whatever, however small it may be. It is true that all our endeavours, without the Divine assistance, cannot enable us to vanquish temptations; but God wishes us on our part frequently to use this violence with ourselves, because then He will afterwards supply us with His grace, will succour our weakness, and enable us to gain the victory. This resolution removes from us every obstacle to our going forward, and at the same time gives us great courage, because it affords us an assurance of being in the grace of God. St. Francis de Sales writes: “The best security we can possess in this world of being in the grace of God, consists not indeed in feeling that we have His love, but in a pure and irrevocable abandonment of our entire being into His hands, and in the firm resolution of never consenting to sin, either great or small.” This is what is meant by being of a delicate conscience. Be it observed that it is one thing to be of a delicate conscience, and another to be of a scrupulous conscience. To be of a delicate conscience is requisite to become a saint; but to be scrupulous is a defect, and does harm; and on this account we must obey our directors, and rise above scruples, which are nothing else but vain and unreasonable alarms.
Meditação II:
Hence it is necessary to resolve on choosing the best; not only what is agreeable to God, but what is most agreeable to Him, without any reserve. St. Francis de Sales says: “We must start with a strong and constant resolution to give ourselves wholly to God, and protest to Him that for the future we wish to be His without any reserve, and then we must afterwards often renew this same resolution.” St. Andrew Avellini made a vow to advance daily in perfection. It is not necessary for every one who wishes to become a saint to make it the matter of a vow; but he must endeavour every day to make some steps forward in perfection. St. Laurence Justinian has written: “When a person is really making progress, he feels in himself a continual desire of advancing; and the more he improves in perfection, the more this desire increases; because as his interior light increases each day more and more, he seems to himself always to be wanting in every virtue, and to be doing no good at all; and if, perchance, he is aware of some good he does, it always appears to him very imperfect, and he makes small account of it. The consequence is, he is continually labouring to acquire perfection without ever feeling wearied.”
Meditação matinal: DIVINE LOVE STRENGTHENS US — “Fortis est ut mors delectio.”
O amor é forte como a morte. — (Cant. viii. 6). As there is no created power that can resist death, so with the soul that loves God there is no difficulty that love cannot overcome. O my Jesus, send Thy Holy Spirit that He may come and strengthen me to do and suffer something for Thy love before death overtakes me.
Meditação I:
Fortis est ut mors delectio. O amor é forte como a morte.
As there is no created power than can resist death, so to the soul that loves God, there is no difficulty which yields not to love. When the soul that loves would please its Beloved, love overcomes all losses, contempt, and sorrows: “Nothing is so hard but that it may be conquered by the fire of love.” This is the most certain mark by which to know whether a soul really loves God, its being as faithful to Him when things are adverse as when they are prosperous. St. Francis de Sales says: “God is just as amiable when He chastises us as when He consoles us, because He does both from love.”
Ó Deus da minha alma, eu digo que Te amo, mas o que faço por Teu amor? Nada. É um sinal, portanto, de que ou não Te amo ou Te amo muito pouco. Envie, portanto, ó Jesus, o Espírito Santo sobre mim, e venha me fortalecer para fazer e sofrer algo por Teu amor antes que a morte me alcance. Não permita, Senhor, que eu saia desta vida frio e ingrato, como tenho sido até agora. Dê-me forças para amar os sofrimentos, por causa dos muitos pecados pelos quais mereci o inferno. Ó meu Deus, que sois todo bondade e todo amor, desejais habitar em minha alma, da qual tantas vezes Vos expulsei; vinde e tomai posse dela; habitai nela e fazei-a toda Vossa.
Meditação II:
When God afflicts us the most in this life, He loves us the most. St. John Chrysostom considered St. Paul bound in chains more happy than St. Paul rapt to the third heavens. Hence the holy Martyrs, in the midst of their torments, rejoiced, and gave thanks to God for the great favour He conferred upon them in allowing them to suffer for His love. And the other Saints, when tyrants were wanting to afflict them, became their own tormentors by the penances which they imposed upon themselves, in order to please God. St. Augustine says: “He who loves, either does not feel the labour, or the labour itself is loved.”
I love Thee, O my Lord; and if I love Thee, Thou art with me, as St. John assures me: He that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him. — (1 John iv. 16). Since, therefore, Thou art with me, increase the flames, the chains of Thy love, that I may neither desire, nor seek, nor love any other but Thee, and thus bound by Thy love, may never separate myself from Thee anymore. I desire, O Jesus, to be Thine, to be all Thine. O Mary, my Queen and advocate, obtain for me love and holy perseverance.
Leitura espiritual: IR À SANTA COMUNHÃO
Of all the Sacraments the adorable Sacrament of the altar is the most excellent. The other Sacraments contain the gifts of God, but the Holy Eucharist contains God Himself. Hence St. Thomas says that the other Sacraments have been instituted by Jesus Christ to prepare men either to receive or to administer the Blessed Eucharist, which, according to the holy Doctor, is the consummation of the spiritual life; because from this Sacrament is derived all the perfection of the soul. For all perfection consists in a union with God; and of all the means of uniting the soul to Him there is none better than Holy Communion by which, as Jesus Christ Himself has said, the soul becomes as it were one thing with Him. He that eateth my flesh . . . abideth in me and I in him. — (John vi. 57). Hence St. John Chrysostom says that Jesus has given His Body to us under the species of bread that we may become one thing with Him. And St. Cyril of Alexander teaches that as two pieces of wax melted together become one, so we, by Holy Communion, are similarly united with Jesus Christ.
Our Saviour instituted this Sacrament under the form of food to show that, as corporal food is changed into our flesh, so this heavenly Bread becomes one thing with us; but with this difference, that earthly food is converted into our substance, while this divine Bread transforms those who eat into Jesus Christ. This is the reason why Rupert makes our Lord say: “Eat, and you shall be by grace what I am by nature.” And this is what our Lord deigned to say one day to St. Augustine: “I will not be changed into you, but you shall be changed into me.” The principal effect of this Sacrament is to preserve in the soul the life of grace. Hence, it is called bread; for as earthly bread supports corporal life, so this heavenly Bread preserves the life of the soul which consists in the grace of God.
The Eucharist is, according to the Council of Trent, the divine medicine that purifies the soul from venial faults, and preserves it from mortal sins. Like a stream of water, this Sacrament extinguishes the ardour of the passions by which we are consumed. Let him in whose soul the flame of some particular passion is kindled approach Holy Communion, and he will find the passion altogether, or at least in a great measure, destroyed. “If any of you,” says St. Bernard, “does not experience so frequent or so violent motions of anger, of envy, or of lust, let him give thanks to the Body of the Lord that produces fruit in his soul.” The angelic Doctor teaches that the Communion gives us strength to overcome all the attacks of the devil. “It repels every assault of the demons.” St. John Chrysostom asserts that when we receive the Holy Eucharist, the devils are put to flight, and the Angels fly to our assistance. Moreover, this Sacrament infuses into the soul great interior peace, a strong inclination to virtue, and a great willingness to practise it, and thus renders it easy to walk in the path of perfection.
Holy Communion, as St. Thomas teaches, infuses divine charity into the heart. Jesus Christ protested that He came into the world for no other purpose than to kindle in our souls the holy fire of divine love. I come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it he kindled? — (Luke xii. 49). The Venerable Father Olimpio, of the Order of Theatines, used to say, that there is no Mystery of Redemption more apt to inflame us with the love of Jesus Christ than the Sacrament of the altar in which He gives Himself entirely to us, and pours forth all His love. Hence, speaking of the institution of this Sacrament, St. John says: Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them unto the end. — (John xiii. 1). He loved them to the end, that is, according to the commentators, he loved them to the utmost of His power. Hence the Council of Trent said that in this Sacrament Jesus “poured forth, as it were, all the riches of His divine love towards man.” Holy Communion has been called by St. Thomas “the Sacrament of love”; and by St. Bernard “the love of loves.” St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used to call the day of Communion “the day of love”; and would say that a soul after Communion might exclaim with Jesus dying on the Cross: It is consummated! For after having given Himself to me, God has nothing more to give me; nor can I desire anything else from Him.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
VI. OS MEIOS DE EVITAR A MORNIDÃO E ALCANÇAR A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
Devemos começar rapidamente e não esperar pelo dia seguinte. Quem sabe se depois encontraremos tempo ou não! Eclesiastes nos aconselha: Tudo o que suas mãos puderem fazer, faça-o com empenho. (Eccles. ix. 10). What thou canst do, do it quickly, and defer it not; and he adduces the reason why: Pois nem a obra, nem a razão, nem a sabedoria, nem o conhecimento estarão no inferno, para onde você está indo. (...) Porque na próxima vida não há mais tempo para trabalhar, nem livre-arbítrio para merecer, nem prudência para fazer o bem, nem sabedoria ou experiência para tomar bons conselhos, pois depois da morte o que está feito está feito. Uma freira do convento de Torre de Specchi, em Roma, cujo nome era Irmã Bonaventura, levava uma vida muito morna. Chegou um religioso, o Padre Lancisius, para dar os exercícios espirituais às freiras, e a Irmã Bonaventura, não sentindo nenhuma inclinação para se livrar de sua tepidez, começou a ouvir os exercícios sem nenhuma boa vontade. Mas logo no primeiro sermão, ela foi conquistada pela graça divina, de modo que imediatamente foi aos pés do padre que pregava e lhe disse, com um tom de verdadeira determinação: "Padre, quero me tornar uma santa, e rapidamente uma santa". E, com a ajuda de Deus, ela o fez, pois viveu apenas oito meses depois desse acontecimento e, durante esse curto período, viveu e morreu como santa.
Meditação II:
David said: And I said, now have I begun. — (Ps. lxxvi. 11). So likewise did St. Charles Borromeo speak: “Today I begin to serve God.” And we should act in the same way as if we had hitherto done no good whatever; for indeed, all that we do for God is nothing, since we are bound to do it. Let us therefore each day resolve to begin afresh to belong wholly to God. Neither let us stop to observe what or how others act. They who become truly saints are few. St. Bernard says: “One cannot be perfect without being singular.” If we would imitate the common run of men, we should always remain imperfect, as for the most part they are. We must overcome all, renounce all, in, order to gain all. St. Teresa said: “Because we do not come to the conclusion of giving all our affection to God, so neither does He give all His love to us.” Oh God, how little is all that is given to Jesus Christ, Who has given His Blood and His life for us! “However much we give,” says the same Saint, “is but mire, in comparison of one single drop of Blood shed for us by our Blessed Lord.” The Saints know not how to spare themselves, when there is a question of pleasing a God Who gave Himself wholly, without reserve, on purpose to oblige us to deny Him nothing. St. Chrysostom wrote: “He gave all to thee, and kept nothing for Himself.” God has bestowed His entire Self upon thee; there is, then, no excuse for thee to behave reservedly with God. He has even died for us all, says the Apostle, in order that each one of us may live only for Him Who died for us: Christ died for all; that they also who live may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them. — (2 Cor. v. 15).
* [The title given in the book for this day is Thursday within the Octave of Ascension.]
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO FAZ COM QUE DEUS HABITE EM NOSSAS ALMAS - "Dulcis Hospes Animae".
O Espírito Santo é chamado de Doce hóspede da alma. Essa foi a grande promessa feita por Jesus Cristo àqueles que O amam: Se me amais, guardai os meus mandamentos; e eu rogarei ao Pai, e ele vos dará outro Paráclito, para que fique convosco para sempre.. — (John xiv. 15, 16).
Meditação I:
O Espírito Santo é chamado de Doce hóspede da alma. A grande promessa feita por Jesus Cristo àqueles que O amam foi esta: Se me amais, guardai os meus mandamentos; e eu rogarei ao Pai, e ele vos dará outro Paráclito, para que fique convosco para sempre.. — (John xiv. 15, 16). Hence the Holy Ghost will never abandon the soul, if the soul does not drive Him away: Ele não desampara, a menos que seja desamparado.
Deus, portanto, habita em nossa alma quando O amamos, mas Ele declara que não está satisfeito conosco a menos que O amemos de todo o coração. Santo Agostinho escreve que o Senado Romano não admitia Jesus entre seus deuses, porque, diziam eles, Ele é um Deus orgulhoso, que não quer que outro seja adorado a não ser Ele mesmo. E assim é; Ele não admite um companheiro no coração que O ama; Ele deve habitar lá sozinho e ser o único objeto amado. E quando Ele vê que não é o único objeto amado, fica com ciúmes, por assim dizer, como escreve São João Crisóstomo, das criaturas que dividem com Ele um coração que Ele deseja ter inteiramente para Si. Você acha que a Escritura diz em vão? O espírito que habita em vocês cobiça a inveja. — (James iv. 5).
Ó meu Deus, vejo que desejas que eu seja todo Teu. Muitas vezes O expulsei de minha alma e, ainda assim, Você não se recusa a voltar para mim e a se unir a mim. Oh, agora tome posse de todo o meu ser. Eu me entrego hoje inteiramente a Ti.
Meditação II:
In a word, as St. Jerome says, Jesus is jealous. Hence the heavenly Spouse praises the soul which, as the turtle dove, lives alone and hidden from the world: Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove’s — (Cant. i. 9), because He desires that the world should not take any part of that love which He desires to have entirely Himself. Again, the spouse is praised because she is a garden enclosed. — (Cant. iv. 12). A garden closed up against all worldly love. Can it be that Jesus does not deserve all our love? “He gave His whole self to Thee,” says St. John Chrysostom, “leaving nothing for Himself.” He has given Thee His Blood and His life; nothing more remains for Him to give thee.
Do Thou accept of me, O Jesus, and grant that, for the future, I may never live one moment deprived of Thy love. Thou seekest me, and I seek no other but Thee. Thou desirest my soul, and my soul desires no other but Thee. Thou lovest me, and I love Thee; and because Thou lovest me, bind me in such a manner to Thee, that I may never more be separated from Thee. O Queen of Heaven, pray for me.
Leitura espiritual: IR FREQUENTEMENTE À COMUNHÃO
Which of the two, asks Cassian, is the more humble – the man that communicates often or he that communicates but seldom? He answers that the person that frequently receives Jesus Christ is the more humble, because he knows his infirmities, and therefore seeks more frequently the remedy of his disease. The angelic Doctor says that though to abstain from Communion through humility and fear is pleasing to God, still the love and confidence that induce a soul to receive Him are more acceptable in His sight. Love and hope, to which the Scriptures constantly exhort us, are preferable to fear.
You will say: I do not know whether I am in the state of grace. But I ask, do you expect that an Angel will come from Heaven to assure you that you are in the state of grace? Is it not enough for you to have the assurance of your confessor? You ought to place more confidence in the testimony of the minister of God than in the revelations of all the Angels of Paradise; for in receiving a communication from Angels, there might he an illusion, but in listening to the confessor who, in your regard, holds the place of God, there is no danger of deception. Whenever, then, your spiritual Father allows you to communicate, take care not to obey the suggestions of the devil by abstaining from Communion through fear and scruples.
I cannot, you will say, bring myself to communicate often, because I constantly commit faults and never amend. The greater you perceive your infirmities to be, the more frequently you ought to seek a remedy for them in Holy Communion. “Because,” says St. Ambrose, “I always sin, I should always use a remedy.” We buttress walls that are leaning, not to make them erect but to prevent them from falling. You say that you perceive in yourself no amendment. Will you improve without the aid of Holy Communion? No; you will, on the contrary, grow worse every day. Father Granada says that “he that desires to be cured of his infirmities should not abstain from this great remedy.” The bare remembrance of having communicated in the morning, and the thought of having to communicate the next day, makes a person more watchful and more attentive to the correction of his faults. Besides, the Sacrament Itself infuses an increase of light and strength into the soul. Theologians generally assert that the Holy Eucharist produces more grace than all the other Sacraments, because it contains Jesus Christ Himself who is the Author of grace. A present that a prince makes with his own hand is more valuable than the gifts that he dispenses through the hands of others.
You will say: I feel myself distracted, cold, and without devotion. What, I ask, do you understand by devotion? If you mean sensible fervour, I say that it is not necessary: it is enough to have fervour in the will, or a determination to do what you know to be pleasing to God. This is the true devotion and fervour that God demands of you; and though you do not feel this fervour of the will, you should, notwithstanding, communicate in order to obtain it by means of the Holy Sacrament. For if you abstain from Communion because you have not sensible fervour, you will, as Gerson says, imitate the folly of those who, when cold, refuse to approach the fire because they do not feel warm. According to St. Laurence Justinian, this Sacrament sometimes produces its effect, though we do not perceive it. St. Bonaventure says: “Although you feel tepid, approach with confidence; for the greater your infirmity the more you stand in need of a physician.” Do not be deterred from frequent Communion because you experience more devotion when you communicate seldom than when you communicate often. He that eats but seldom eats with great eagerness but with less profit; and, if you communicate but seldom you may, perhaps, feel a little more of sensible fervour, but you will also receive less fruit; because your soul will want the food that gives strength to avoid sins and imperfections. Seek not, then, sensible devotion in your Communions. Communicate only for the purpose of uniting your soul more closely to God, and be assured that, as often as you communicate with that view, your Communions will be productive of great fruit.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
VII. OS MEIOS DE EVITAR A MORNIDÃO E ALCANÇAR A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
O terceiro meio de se tornar um santo é oração mental. John Gerson escreve: "Aquele que não medita sobre as verdades eternas não pode, sem um milagre, levar a vida de um cristão. A razão é que, sem a oração mental, a luz nos falta e andamos na escuridão. As verdades da fé não são vistas pelos olhos do corpo, mas pelos olhos da mente, quando meditamos; aquele que não medita nelas, não as vê e, portanto, caminha na escuridão; e estando na escuridão, ele facilmente se apega às coisas sensíveis, por causa das quais ele acaba desprezando o eterno". Santa Teresa escreveu o seguinte ao bispo de Osma: "Embora pareçamos não descobrir em nós mesmos nenhuma imperfeição, quando Deus abre os olhos da alma, o que costuma fazer na oração, elas aparecem claramente". E São Bernardo já havia dito que aquele que não medita "não se abomina a si mesmo, simplesmente porque não se conhece". "A oração", diz o Santo, "regula os afetos e dirige as ações"; ela mantém os afetos da alma em ordem e dirige todas as nossas ações para Deus; mas sem a oração os afetos se apegam à terra, as ações se conformam aos afetos e, dessa forma, tudo entra em desordem.
Meditação II:
We read of an awful example of this in the life of the Venerable Sister Mary Crucified of Sicily. Whilst this servant of God was praying, she heard a devil making a boast that he had succeeded in withdrawing a Religious from the Community-prayer; and she saw in spirit, that after this omission the devil tempted her to consent to a grievous sin, and that she was on the point of yielding. She forthwith accosted her, and by a timely admonition prevented her falling. St. Teresa said, that whoever leaves off prayer “very shortly becomes either a brute-beast or a devil.”
O Jesus, my Love, I repent of my lukewarmness, I am determined to love Thee as much as I can, and I wish to become a saint; and I wish to become a saint for this reason, in order to give Thee pleasure, and to love Thee exceedingly in this life and the next! I can do nothing of myself, but Thou canst do all things; and I know that Thou wishest me to become a saint. I see already by Thy grace my soul sighs only for Thee, and seeks nothing else but Thee. I wish to live no more for myself; Thou desirest me to be wholly Thine, and I desire to be wholly Thine. Come, and unite me to Thyself, and Thyself to me. Thou art Infinite Goodness; Thou art He who hast loved me so much; Thou art, indeed, too loving and too lovely; how, then, can I love any thing but Thee? I prefer Thy love before all the things of this world; Thou art the sole object, the sole end of all my affections. I leave all to be occupied solely in loving Thee, my Redeemer, my Comforter, my Hope, my Love, and my All.
* [The title given in the book for this day is Friday within the Octave of Ascension.]
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO É UM VÍNCULO SAGRADO QUE UNE A ALMA A DEUS
Assim como o Espírito Santo é o vínculo indissolúvel que une o Pai e o Verbo Eterno, Ele também é o vínculo que une nossas almas a Deus. Ó Amor, Teu vínculo é tão forte que é capaz de ligar até mesmo Deus e uni-lo às nossas almas!
Meditação I:
As the Holy Ghost, Who is uncreated Love, is the indissoluble bond uniting the Father and the Eternal Word, so also He unites the soul with God: “Charity is a virtue,” says St. Augustine, “uniting us with God.” Hence St. Laurence Justinian with great joy exclaims: “O Love, how strong is Thy bond, which is capable of binding God!” The bonds of the world are bonds of death, but the bonds of God are bonds of life and salvation: Suas faixas são uma ligação saudável — (Ecclus. vi. 31), because the bonds of God, by means of love, unite us with God Who is our true and only life.
Antes da vinda de Jesus Cristo, os homens se afastaram de Deus e, apegados à Terra, recusaram-se a unir-se ao Criador; mas nosso amoroso Senhor nos atraiu a Ele pelos laços do amor, conforme predisse o Profeta Oseias: Eu os atrairei com as cordas de Adão, com as faixas do amor. — (Osee xi. 4). These bonds are His benefits, His lights, His calls to love Him, and His promises of Heaven; but, above all, they are the gifts which Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us in giving us Himself in the Sacrifice of the Cross, and in the Sacrament of the Altar, and ultimately in sending down upon us the Holy Ghost.
Meu querido Jesus, Tu realmente fizeste muito para me obrigar a Te amar, pagaste muito caro para comprar meu amor; muito ingrato, portanto, eu seria se Te amasse pouco, ou se dividisse meu coração entre Ti e as criaturas, depois de teres derramado Teu Sangue e dado Tua vida por mim. Desejo desapegar-me de todas as outras coisas, a fim de dedicar todo o meu afeto a Ti. Mas sou fraco demais para realizar esse desejo; Tu, que me inspiraste com ele, dá-me forças para realizá-lo.
Meditação II:
The Prophet Isaias exclaims: Loosing the bonds from off thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. — (lii. 2). O my soul, thou who art created for Heaven, loose from off thy neck the bonds of the earth, and unite thyself to God by the bonds of love. Have charity, which is the bond of perfection. — (Col. iii. 14). Love is a bond which unites with itself all other virtues, and makes the soul perfect. “Love,” says St. Augustine, “and do what thou pleasest.” Yes, love God and do what thou wilt, because he who loves God, carefully avoids giving any offence to his Beloved, and seeks in all things to please Him.
O my Jesus, pierce my poor heart with the sweet dart of Thy love that I may ever languish with the desire of Thee, and be dissolved with the love of Thee. May I ever seek only Thee, desire only Thee, and find only Thee! O Jesus, I desire only Thee alone. Grant that I may ever repeat during life, and especially at the hour of my death: I desire Thee alone! O Mary, my Mother, pray that from henceforth I may never desire anything but God
Leitura espiritual: IR FREQUENTEMENTE À COMUNHÃO
You say again: I abstain from Communion to escape the censure of others that see my imperfections and rebuke me for communicating so frequently. To this pretext I answer: If you communicate with the advice of your director, and through a motive of advancing in divine love or of correcting your defects, be not disturbed by the complaints or censures of others. According to Blessed John of Avila, they who censure others for frequent Communion perform the office of the devil. Will you then pay attention to their remarks? Listen to the words of St. Francis de Sales: “If,” he says, “they ask you why you communicate so often, tell them that two classes of persons should communicate frequently, the perfect to preserve perfection; and the imperfect, to attain perfection; the strong, lest they become weak; and the weak, to grow strong; the sick to be cured, and the healthy, to prevent sickness. And as to yourself, tell them that, because you are imperfect, weak, and infirm, you stand in need of frequent Communion. Tell them that all who are free from worldly occupations, because they have the opportunity, and all who are engaged in them, because they have need of Communion, should communicate frequently.” In conclusion, he says: “Philothea, communicate often, and as often as possible, with the advice of your spiritual Father; and believe me that, as the hares on our mountains become white because they feed only on snow, so, by eating purity itself in this Sacrament you will become all pure.” To St. Frances of Rome, as she was going to Communion, the devil said: “How can you, who are so full of venial sins, dare receive the Immaculate Lamb?” Perceiving that the enemy wished to deprive her of Communion, she banished him by spitting in his face. The Blessed Virgin immediately appeared to her, and, after having praised her conduct, said that our defects, instead of being an obstacle, should be an incentive to Communion, since, in Communion, we find the remedy of all our miseries.
You will perhaps say: I have not time to prepare as I ought for Holy Communion. I answer: if your time is spent in useless occupations or discourses, then your excuse is frivolous. But if you be employed in performing the duties of your office, or of obedience, rest assured that the discharge of these duties, with a view to please God, will be an excellent preparation for Communion. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was once engaged in making bread, when the bell rang for Communion; she instantly obeyed the call, and in an ecstasy received the Holy Sacrament. Hence she was accustomed to say to her Sisters: “Offer to God all your actions as a preparation for Communion, perform them with the intention of pleasing Him, and communicate.” Whenever the want of time arises from your being employed in the performance of your duties, in the care of the sick, or in the performance of any work of charity that cannot be deferred, you should never abstain from Communion in consequence of not having sufficient time for preparation. But be careful to avoid as much as possible all unnecessary conversations and amusements, and when you foresee that in the morning you will not have time to prepare for Communion, endeavour on the preceding evening to make some preparation, by reading a book of piety, and by making the acts that ought to be made in the morning; or rise a little before the usual hour and spend whatever time may be at your disposal in preparation for the Holy Sacrament.
Oh! what great and continual progress is made in divine love by those who, with a strong desire, frequent Holy Communion! Oh! how wonderfully does the Lord draw them to His love! St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi once saw a soul suffering in Purgatory for having through carelessness omitted one Communion. And we read in her Life that she several times burst into tears because a Sister in her Community abstained from Communion through negligence. Be assured that of all your devotions there is none more dear to Jesus Christ than your Communions. For all perfection consists in a perfect union with God; and Holy Communion is the action that unites the soul most closely to Jesus, and consequently you can do nothing more pleasing in His sight. Hence, the same St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi used to say: “I would rather die than omit a Communion permitted by obedience.”
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
VIII. OS MEIOS DE EVITAR A MORNIDÃO E ALCANÇAR A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
Aquele que deixar de orar deixará de amar Jesus Cristo. A oração é a fornalha abençoada onde o fogo do amor santo é aceso e mantido vivo: E em minha meditação um fogo se acenderá. — (Ps. xxxviii. 4). It was said by St. Catherine of Bologna: “The person that foregoes the practice of prayer breaks the chain which binds the soul to God.” It follows that the devil, finding the soul cold in Divine love, will have little difficulty in inducing her to partake of some poisonous fruit or other. St. Teresa said, on the contrary: “Whosoever perseveres in prayer, let him hold for a certainty, that with however many sins the devil may surround him, the Lord will eventually bring him into the haven of salvation.” In another place the Saint says: “Whoever halts not in the way of prayer arrives sooner or later.” And elsewhere she writes that it is on this account the devil labours so hard to withdraw souls from prayer, because he well knows that he has missed gaining those who faithfully persevere in prayer. Oh, how great are the benefits that flow from prayer! In prayer we conceive holy thoughts, we practise devout affections, we excite great desires, and form efficacious resolutions to give ourselves wholly to God; and thus the soul is led for His sake to sacrifice earthly pleasures and all disorderly appetites. It was said by St. Aloysius Gonzaga: “There will never be much perfection without much prayer.” Let him who longs for perfection mark well this notable saying of the Saint.
Meditação II:
We should not go to prayer in order to taste the sweetness of Divine love; whoever prays from such a motive will lose his time, or at least derive little advantage from it. A person should go to prayer solely to please God, that is, solely to learn what the will of God is in his regard, and to beg of Him the help to put it in practice. The Venerable Father Antony Torres said: “To carry the cross without consolation makes souls fly to perfection. Prayer unattended with sensible consolations confers greater fruit on the soul. But pitiable is the poor soul that leaves off prayer because she finds no relish in it.” St. Teresa said: “When a soul leaves off prayer, it is as if she cast herself into hell without any need of devils.”
Meditação matinal: O AMOR DIVINO É UM TESOURO QUE CONTÉM TODO O BEM - "Infinitus thesaurus hominibus".
O Amor Divino é aquele tesouro para o qual, segundo o Evangelho, devemos deixar todas as coisas, pois esse amor nos torna participantes da amizade de Deus. Um tesouro infinito que aqueles que o usam se tornam amigos de Deus.
Meditação I:
O Amor Divino é aquele Tesouro, para o qual, como diz o Evangelho, o homem deve abrir mão de todas as coisas, pois esse amor nos torna participantes da amizade de Deus: Um tesouro infinito para os homens, que aqueles que o usam se tornam amigos de Deus. — (Wis. vii. 14). “O men,” says St. Augustine, “whither go ye in search of good things? Seek the one only Good in Whom are all good things.” But we cannot find the only Good – namely, God – unless we renounce the things of the earth. St. Teresa writes: “Detach thy heart from creatures, and thou shalt find God.” He who finds God, finds all that he can desire. Deleite-se no Senhor, e ele lhe concederá o desejo de seu coração. — (Ps. xxxvi. 4). The human heart is continually seeking after such good things as may make it happy, but if it seek them from creatures, how much soever it may acquire, it will never be satisfied with them; but if it seek only God, God will satisfy all its desires. Who but the Saints are most happy in this world? And why? Because they desire and seek only God. A certain prince, going to the chase, saw a solitary running swiftly through the forest, and asked him what he was seeking for in that desert place. The solitary replied: “And thou, O prince, what art thou in quest of?” The prince: “I am going in quest of wild beasts.” “And I,” said the hermit, “am going in quest of God.”
Meu Deus, até agora eu não Te busquei, mas a mim mesmo e às minhas próprias gratificações, e por isso dei as costas a Ti, meu soberano Bem. Mas me consolo com as palavras de Jeremias: O Senhor é bom para a alma que o busca. — (Lam. iii. 25). These words assure me that Thou, my God, art all goodness towards him who seeks Thee.
Meditação II:
The tyrant offered St. Clement gold and gems if he would renounce Jesus Christ; on which the Saint exclaimed with a deep sigh: “Alas, God is put in competition with a little mire!” Happy is he who knows the value of the treasure of Divine love and seeks to obtain it! He who obtains it will divest himself of all things else, that he may possess God alone. “When the house is on fire,” says St. Francis de Sales, “all the goods are thrown out of the windows.” And Father Paul Segneri the Younger, a great servant of God, was accustomed to say that love was a thief which robbed us of all worldly affections, so that we can in all truth say: “What do I desire, but Thee alone, my God?”
My beloved Saviour, I know the evil I have committed in forsaking Thee, and I repent of it with my whole heart. I know Thou art an infinite Treasure. I will not abuse the light. I forsake all things, and choose Thee for my only Love. My God, my Love, my All, I love Thee, I desire Thee, I sigh after Thee. Come, O Holy Spirit, and destroy in me by Thy sacred fire every affection which has not Thee for its object. Grant that I may be all Thine, and that I may conquer every thing to please Thee. O Mary, my advocate and my Mother, do thou help me by thy prayers.
Leitura espiritual: PREPARAÇÃO PARA A SAGRADA COMUNHÃO
St. Francis de Sales says, that our Saviour can never be seen more amiable and more tender, in all that He has done for us, than in Holy Communion, in which He, so to say, annihilates Himself and becomes Food, that He may unite Himself to the hearts and bodies of His faithful. Therefore the learned Gerson used also to say, that there was no means more efficacious than the Holy Communion whereby to enkindle devotion and the holy love of God in our souls.
And, indeed, if we speak of doing something agreeable to God, what can a soul do more agreeable to Him than to receive Communion? St. Denis teaches us that love always tends towards perfect union; but how can a soul be more perfectly united with Jesus than in the manner of which He speaks Himself, saying: He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and I in him. — (John vi. 57). St. Augustine says, that if every day you receive this Sacrament, Jesus will be always with you, and you will always advance in divine love.
Again, if there is question of healing our spiritual infirmities, what more certain remedy can we have than the Holy Communion, which is called by the sacred Council of Trent “a remedy whereby we may be freed from daily faults, and be preserved from mortal sins.”
Whence does it come, asks Cardinal Bona, that in so many souls we see so little fruit from frequent Communion, and that they constantly relapse into the same faults? He replies: “The fault is not in the Food, but in the disposition of him who receives It.” Can a man, says Solomon, hide a fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn? — (Prov. vi. 27). God is a consuming fire. He comes Himself in the Holy Communion to enkindle this divine fire; how is it, then, says William of Paris, that we see so diabolical a miracle as that souls should remain cold in divine love in the midst of such flames?
All comes from the want of proper dispositions, and especially from the want of preparation. Fire immediately inflames dry but not green wood; for this latter is not fit to burn. The Saints derived great benefit from their Communions, because they prepared themselves with very great care. St. Aloysius Gonzaga devoted three days to his preparation for Holy Communion, and three days he spent in thanksgiving to his Lord.
To prepare well for Holy Communion a soul should be disposed on two main points: it should be detached from creatures, and have a great desire to advance in divine love.
1. In the first place, then, a soul should detach itself from all things, and drive everything from its heart which is not God. He that is washed, saith Jesus, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. — (John xiii. 10). Which signifies, as St. Bernard explains it, that in order to receive this Sacrament with great fruit, we should not only be cleansed from mortal sins, but our feet also should be washed, that is, we should be free from all earthly affections; for, being in contact with the earth, they excite a sort of repugnance in God, and soiling the soul, prevent the effects of Holy Communion.
St. Gertrude asked our Lord what preparations He required of her for the Holy Communion; and He replied: “I only ask that thou shouldst come empty of thyself, to receive Me.”
2. In the second place it is necessary, in the Holy Communion, to have a great desire to receive Jesus Christ and His holy love. In this sacred Banquet, says Gerson, only those who are famishing receive their fill; and the most Blessed Virgin Mary had already said the same thing: He hath filled the hungry with good things. — (Luke i. 53). As Jesus, writes the Blessed Father Avila, came into this world only after He had been much and long desired, so does He only enter a soul that desires Him; for it is not becoming that such Food should be given to him who has a loathing for It. Our Lord one day said to St. Matilda: “No bee flies with such impetuosity to flowers, to suck their honey, as I fly to souls in the Holy Communion, driven by the violence of my love.” Since, then, Jesus Christ has so great a desire to come into our souls, it is right that we also should have a great desire to receive Him and His divine love in the Holy Communion. St. Francis de Sales teaches us that the principal object a soul should have in view in communicating should be, to advance in the love of God; since He, Who for love alone gives Himself to us, should be received for love.
Meditação noturna: A PRÁTICA DO AMOR DE JESUS CRISTO
IX. OS MEIOS DE EVITAR A MORNIDÃO E ALCANÇAR A PERFEIÇÃO
Meditação I:
O resultado da prática da oração é que a pessoa pensa constantemente em Deus. "O verdadeiro amante", diz Santa Teresa, "está sempre atento ao ser amado. E daí se segue que as pessoas que oram estão sempre falando de Deus, sabendo, como sabem, quão agradável é a Deus que Seus amantes se deleitem em conversar sobre Ele e sobre o amor que Ele lhes tem, e que assim se esforcem para acendê-lo nos outros". O mesmo santo escreveu: "Jesus Cristo está sempre presente nas conversas dos servos de Deus, e Ele fica muito satisfeito por ser o objeto de seu deleite".
A oração, mais uma vez, cria o desejo de se retirar para a solidão, a fim de conversar a sós com Deus e manter o recolhimento interior no cumprimento dos deveres externos necessários; eu digo necessárioO homem de oração deve amar a solidão e evitar a dissipação em assuntos supérfluos e inúteis, caso contrário, perderá o espírito de recolhimento, que é um grande meio de preservar a união com Deus: Minha irmã, minha esposa, é um jardim fechado. — (Cant. iv. 12).
Meditação II:
The soul espoused to Jesus Christ must be a garden closed to all creatures, and must not admit into her heart other thoughts, nor other business, but those of God or for God. Hearts thrown open never become holy. The Saints, who have to labour in gaining souls to God, do not lose their recollection in the midst of all their labours, either of preaching, confessing, reconciling enemies, or assisting the sick. The same rule holds good with those who have to apply to study. How many from excessive study, and a desire to become learned, become neither holy nor learned, because true learning consists in the science of the Saints; that is to say, in knowing how to love Jesus Christ; whereas, on the contrary, Divine love brings with it knowledge and every good: All good things come to me together with her — (Wis. vii. 11), that is, with holy charity. St. John Berchmans had an extraordinary love for study, but by his great virtue he never allowed study to interfere with his spiritual interests. The Apostle exhorts us: Not to be more wise than it behoveth to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety. — (Rom, xii, 3). A priest especially must have knowledge; he must know things, because he has to instruct others in the Divine Law: For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth. — (Mal. ii. 7). He must have knowledge, but unto sobriety. He that leaves prayer for study shows that in his study he seeks himself, and not God. He that seeks God leaves study (if it be not absolutely necessary) in order not to omit prayer.
